Harbinger
'' |image= |series= |production=40358-067/315 |producer(s)= |story= Rick Berman and Brannon Braga |script=Manny Coto |director=David Livingston |imdbref=tt0572214 |guests=Noa Tishby as Amanda Cole, Thomas Kopache as The Alien and Steven Culp as Major Hayes |previous_production=Stratagem |next_production=Doctor's Orders |episode=ENT S03E15 |airdate=11 February 2004 |previous_release=Stratagem |next_release=Doctor's Orders |story_date(s)= 27 December 2153 |previous_story=Stratagem |next_story=Doctor's Orders }} =Summary= It is December 2153, and Enterprise continues along its time-sensitive course towards Azati Prime to find the Xindi weapon (Stratagem). Commander Tucker begins spending time with a female MACO, and Sub-Commander T'Pol begins to exhibit signs of suppressed jealousy. Meanwhile, the long-simmering tension between Lieutenant Malcolm Reed and Major Hayes finally comes to a head when Hayes approaches Archer over their security roles aboard Enterprise. Hayes suggests training together to share ideas, but Reed sees this as a move to undermine his authority. Despite the significant time constraints of their mission to save Earth, Captain Archer diverts Enterprise to investigate a convergent region of spatial anomalies (created in the center of five spheres), where the crew discover a pod containing an alien. The pod is retrieved, and the alien is taken to Sickbay, but Doctor Phlox can do little to keep him alive. Archer wishes to interrogate him, and does so against Phlox's wishes. Meanwhile, Hayes sets up a weapons training session, and comments continually at Reed's performance. They later get into a fistfight, much to Archer's chagrin. T'Pol and Tucker finally continue their Vulcan 'neuropressure' sessions, and T'Pol reveals her conversation with Sim-Trip to him, and the two become intimate. She later is very clinical in thanking Tucker for his assistance in her one-time "exploration of human sexuality". Back in Sickbay, the alien revives and physically begins to phase. He attacks Phlox, and then heads through walls towards the warp core, attempting to destabilize the magnetic seals. Reed and Hayes, now working together, stop the alien and he is returned to Sickbay. Archer, intent on getting answers, is frustrated as the alien dies and then disappears. =Errors and Explanations= Nit Central # Sparrow47 on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 7:52 pm: So, I know the MACO's are trying to be all badass and all, but there's a difference between tough and crazy, specifically when it comes down to not putting any mats on the floor whilst training. Don't you want your people in tip-top shape for a possible attack? It seems like throwing people around on a metal floor would greatly increase the chance of injury. Influx on Friday, February 13, 2004 - 9:46 am: I noticed in a close-up shot that the floor consisted of interlocking pads designed for the purpose such as are used in tournaments. LUIGI NOVI on Friday, February 13, 2004 - 11:16 am: I did barely notice the interlock pattern, but they didn’t look like pads at all. When you look at how their feet press down on the floor as they stand, or how Travis hands are pressing down when thrown onto his stomach, the floor isn’t being pressed down as if it is pads. It looks like a solid metal surface. SeniramUK 12:00, November 20, 2018 (UTC) It could be their way of toughening people up! # And, oh yeah, about this training. Why start it now? I mean, the Xindi have pretty much had their way with both the MACOs and Reed's staff every previous time they've boarded. Shouldn't they have been trying to beef things up after, say, "Rajin"? LUIGI NOVI on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 1:03 pm: Perhaps Hayes has wanted to, but didn’t want to assert himself too soon after first coming on board the ship as a newbie, and when he eventually began to make such suggestions, ran into resistance from Reed. # Annnnnnnnd finally, about the training... why is it only the senior staff and the MACOs doing this? I mean, I know that a senior officer is required to be around any time something important is going down on the ship, but wouldn't it make sense to, you know, get your whole crew trained in defense, seeing as though the Xindi have completely demolished you in every single encounter? LUIGI NOVI on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 1:03 pm: Perhaps focusing on Tactical crewmen and senior staff is an interim idea, and may develop to include the rest of the crew if successful. # So, I thought the alien was supposed to be disentegrating, but in practice, it really seems like he's phasing out of our universe, or whatever, ala Laforge and Ro in The Next Phase. That seems different from disentegration. LUIGI NOVI on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 1:03 pm: We don’t know exactly what effect his body was exhibiting, or how Phlox’s instruments interpreted it. It’s possible that the effect of the alien’s body was designed to look like what Phlox saw. # Okay, how did the Alien knock Phlox unconscious? LUIGI NOVI on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 1:03 pm: He cut off his air supply just enough to do so. Influx on Friday, February 13, 2004 - 9:46 am: To me it looked like his arm phased through Phlox's neck, and I had the impression he did a similar thing to Trip in the engine room. # Onto a positive comment- it was really good to see Archer flat-out yell when chewing out Reed and Hayes. Can we have more of that Archer, please? LUIGI NOVI on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 1:03 pm: I think we’ve had plenty of yelling and cursing from Archer. Good leadership is more than that, and is indicated more by his decision-making and tactical maneuvering, like what we saw at the end of Proving Ground. # Those targets the MACOs had- what exactly were they? Were they holograms? If so, how did they get them? Were they projections of some other type? LUIGI NOVI on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 1:03 pm: They were clearly holograms. The projector was shown in the establishing shot of that scene, and it first used back in Silent Enemy. # T'Pol's jealousy. Way out of line for a Vulcan. Darth Sarcasm on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 12:02 pm: It was established in Impulse that trellium adversely affects Vulcan synaptic pathways. Phlox says that he is able to treat T'Pol, but not the other Vulcans. He doesn't, however, say he can cure her. Is it possible that the effects of her trellium exposure are irreversible? And that T'Pol is simply having difficulty suppressing intense emotions (even Spock had trouble from time to time)? LUIGI NOVI on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 1:03 pm: But didn’t they choose not to insulate the ship with trellium, which is why they’re still vulnerable to the spatial anomalies? Darth Sarcasm on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 2:43 pm: You're assuming T'Pol was completely cured when Phlox tended to her... my understanding in Impulse is that there was a point where the damage was irreverible (which is why he couldn't save the other Vulcans). So isn't it possible that T'Pol suffered some irreversible nerve damage (just not to the extent of the others). # And as a side note, no human should be able to punch out a Vulcan, even when that Vulcan is emotionally distracted. First, a Vulcan wouldn't be emotionally distracted. LUIGI NOVI on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 1:03 pm: There is no basis for this assertion. Vulcans have the same emotions as humans, and as such, they can be affected by them, which has been long-established in Trek. (Spock affected emotionally by the Tribbles in The Trouble with Tribbles (TOS), his elation at seeing Kirk alive at the end of Amok Time (TOS), Sarek’s admission to T’Lar at the end of ST III that his logic is uncertain where his son is concerned, Spock’s decision to stand with his friends in ST IV, Tuvok’s reaction to Neelix accusing him of having to have the last word at the end of Rise (VOY), etc. There is nothing that suggests that a Vulcan can never be distracted, and never lose a fight. '' Cybermortis on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - 1:05 pm:'' T'Pol wasn't punched out, she was knocked off her feet. Even a heavy-weight boxer can be knocked off their feet if they get punched in the face while distracted. # Second, Vulcans are at least twice as strong as humans, even a trained MACO. The punch should have turned her head, but not laid her flat on the floor. LUIGI NOVI on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 1:03 pm: Physical strength has nothing to so with vulnerability to physical impact. If you get hit hard enough, you’ll fall. Moreover, skill in hand-to-hand combat techniques usually emphasizes things other than sheer physical strength, like speed, leverage, strategy, interpreting your opponent’s next move, knowledge of sensitive nerve clusters, etc. # What is with "just a Klingon move I picked up"? When did Reed ever come into friendly contact with Klingons to learn any martial arts moves? The three times Enterprise has encountered Klingons they've been quite belligerent and not in a sharing frame of mind. SlinkyJ on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 4:42 am: He did say something he picked up. I always thought that Reed observes a lot, and just practised what he observed from them. Captain Dunsel on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 11:29 am: That was sort of my point. When did Reed observe any Klingon martial arts moves? I suppose they could have had an adventure with Klingons in between the episodes that we didn't see... Darth Sarcasm on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 12:02 pm: He didn't say a Klingon taught him the move. Perhaps he "picked up" on it by observing the enemy's tactics in Marauders (like a good security officer would).LUIGI NOVI on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 1:03 pm: Except that they never used such a move in his presence, or at all in that episode. I think he got it from the Vulcan’s knowledge of Klingons through their database. # The unknown alien. Most straightforward part of the show, but no surprise when he turns out to be a sabotaging spy. Nit: why does his makeup suggest a degenerative condition as if his body is falling apart (Phlox even says he is literally disintegrating) yet he "phases" away, clothing and all, leaving no traces behind. LUIGI NOVI on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 1:03 pm: I personally did not see his makeup as having anything to do with his alleged condition. I assumed his face’s “cracked look” was a natural feature of his race. Captain Dunsel on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 1:15 pm: Luigi, if you look at the first scene with the alien, when they bring him out of the pod, his skin is much smoother and it gradually becomes craggier in each subsquent scene in the episodes. LUIGI NOVI on Friday, February 13, 2004 - 8:33 am: Yeah, you’re right. Me, I’m not sure what to make of his make and Phlox’s diagnosis in light of his phase-shifting abilities. Maybe he was engineered to have phase-shifting abilities, but it had the side effect of cellular degeneration when taken out of his lifepod. # Zarm Rkeeg on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 10:46 am: So why did the alien demand to be sent back to his ship if he wanted to sabatouge Enterprise? To give credence to his story? (I'm a prisoner. I don't know why I'm here, but... Un-rescue me immediately!!!) ScottN on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 2:14 pm: He didn't realize he was on a human ship. Remember, he didn't leave sickbay until *after* Phlox told him most of the crew was from Earth. # The Undesirable Element on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 1:37 pm: During the "training", several people take severe hits especially to the face. What's remarkable is how well they manage to take it. I took Taekwondo for several years and it really hurts to even get kicked in the face when the other person is wearing pads. Also, as mentioned above, what good does it do to beat up your crew so that they'll be injured when the Xindi attack? The MACOs obviously think the Starfleet crew need toughening up! # This episode seems to imply that the MACO organization has been around awhile (long enough to have more sophisticated techniques than Starfleet). Prior to the Xindi attack, what was this organization planning to do? Poverty, disease, and war were eliminated from Earth 50 years prior to this series. Reed says that these people were training in simulators, but what was the point? If the Earth government was expecting to run into hostile forces in space, why weren't the MACOs on the Enterprise from the beginning? LUIGI NOVI on Friday, February 13, 2004 - 8:33 am: What does one have to do with the other? They’re simply a different organization, and different organizations sometimes do some things better or have better resources in some areas. # Where was Archer during these training sessions? He too good to get smacked around by ol' Hayes? LUIGI NOVI on Friday, February 13, 2004 - 8:33 am: He had other duties to attend to. '' Cybermortis on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - 1:05 pm:'' Official reason; Its not that good to see the Captain getting kicked around by his own crew. # Torque, Son of Keplar on Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - 8:12 pm: Since when did the Enterprise get escape pods?:) Either during initial construction, or the pre Xindi mission refit. Category:EpisodesCategory:Enterprise